"You're sure?" He looks at the offered gadget with wonder. Usually he's the one saying 'you like it? here, just take it', and the gesture throws him for a loop. Norman purses his lips together and waves Beat off with a shake of his head. "I don't want you to go without. You can just tell me where you got it and I can buy my own."
Then Beat shifts, and Norman doesn't mind - it's comfortable. Harry never hung out with him like this, and Peter has a different way of being close: for the pooka it's usually blanket piles on the couch and whatever old movie Phil is broadcasting that week, with a pile of snacks to boot. This is just ... casual, an afterthought, something that suggests how comfortable Beat is around him, even in public. Norman's heart feels warm in a way he's begun to crave the way he used to need a glass of whiskey at night to sleep.
He listens, and soon realizes he's being given a confession: one Beat might be a little nervous about. But Norman is mystified. Mystified, and, yes, a little jealous that Beat didn't ask for his help as well. But he can understand: he'd been deep in his own research on the medicines, after all. Jealousy isn't the important thing here.
"That's incredible," he says, matching Beat's volume so that he doesn't draw attention to them there on the bench. "You did ... all that? That must have taken so long. But - but Beat, look what you did. D'you know how happy so many people are to be themselves again?"
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ninetydegrees
For Beat
29/10/22 23:33 (UTC)Then Beat shifts, and Norman doesn't mind - it's comfortable. Harry never hung out with him like this, and Peter has a different way of being close: for the pooka it's usually blanket piles on the couch and whatever old movie Phil is broadcasting that week, with a pile of snacks to boot. This is just ... casual, an afterthought, something that suggests how comfortable Beat is around him, even in public. Norman's heart feels warm in a way he's begun to crave the way he used to need a glass of whiskey at night to sleep.
He listens, and soon realizes he's being given a confession: one Beat might be a little nervous about. But Norman is mystified. Mystified, and, yes, a little jealous that Beat didn't ask for his help as well. But he can understand: he'd been deep in his own research on the medicines, after all. Jealousy isn't the important thing here.
"That's incredible," he says, matching Beat's volume so that he doesn't draw attention to them there on the bench. "You did ... all that? That must have taken so long. But - but Beat, look what you did. D'you know how happy so many people are to be themselves again?"